Freight forwarders will no longer accept apologies for demurrage from banks over IT breakdown – APFFLON

The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has stated categorically that importers and freight forwarders will not further accept apologies as a compensation for demurrage from duty collecting banks over  breakdown of their IT system.

The APFFLON National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, stated this while performing the inauguration of PTML and Seme Chapters of the association at the national secretariat of the association on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

The unrelenting APFFLON President, who made a reference to the recent breakdown of IT server of First Bank that led to a huge demurrage by importers without compensation, absolved the Nigeria Customs Customs of any complicity in the constant breakdown of IT servers of the duty collecting banks.

“Apologies are not enough. We need a cash compensation each time you (banks) have an issue with your IT server,” he said, saying the Nigeria Customs fairs better with the use of the Unified Customs Management System (UCMS), also known as B’Odogwu, than when Webb Fontaine, foreign company, was managing its ICT.

Describing the B’Odogwu as an ingenious and enduring tool, Ogunojemite said the Customs is collecting more revenue for the government and serving the freight forwarding community better than when Webb Fontaine was in charge, promising that APFFLON members would continue to support the use of the B’Odogwu platform by the Customs for duty collection.

The APFFLON President maintained that “if they were not able to stop the $US250 million contract of Webb Fontaine, there could not be anything called B’Odogwu now,” lamenting that Nigeria lost huge revenues as importers incurred huge demurrage in the heydays of Webb Fontaine.

He said the challenges being experienced in the B’Odogwu now are normal and therefore appealed to all APFFLON members and other stakeholders in the freight forwarding chain to exercise patience while the Customs is working hard to overcome the challenges.

Speaking on the exemption of cargo below $300 from duty payment, Ogunojemite commended the initiative but appealed to the Customs to extend the exemption to infrastructure needed in the key sectors of the national economy – agriculture and health – to boost food production to reduce hunger and to improve and provide cheap healthcare for Nigerians.

APFFLON President said “I expected zero duties on agriculture, on the commercial vehicles, and on the medical infrastructure. In the past, we had written to the government to exempt agriculture tools, ambulance vehicles and others to enhance living standard of Nigerians.

“If you look at the purchasing power of the people, it is so low. The inflation has eroded it.  If you listened to the news today, the government said they want to cut the prices of food. So if there is zero duty on agriculture tools, hospital ambulance and other infrastructure, commercial vehicles etc, that would be more better for the safety of this country.”

Ogunojemite, who took time to lecture members especially new ones on the objectives and major achievements of APFFLON since its establishment, said the association was instrumental to the birth of the B’Odogwu because its constant protests led the National Assembly to investigate the Webb Fontaine’s malfeasance in the nation’s freight forwarding chain and which eventually led the government to terminate the contract of Webb Fontaine from providing ICT service for the Customs.

He, however, charged the new chapter executives to brace up for challenges and urged them to carry their members along in their decision making processes.

The Chairman of Airport Chapter, Forwarder Olorunfemi Quadri, also joined the National President in advising the new chapters to work in line with the constitution of the association, pointing out that the association is know for champion the growth of the industry.